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School Grounds, School Buildings 
and Their Equipment 



W.F. DOUGHTY 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction 




-^.'WCDCtOCC*'*^ 



BULLETIN 65 



AUGUST j. 1917 



THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 
STATE OF TEXAS 



School Grounds, School Buildings 
and Their Equipment 



W. F. DOUGHTY 

State Superintendent of Public Instruction 









^^ V A / ^ 






BULLETIN 65 AUGUST 1. I9I7 



THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

''^^^^ — STATE OF Texas 



AUSTIN, TEXAS 

VON BOECKMANN-JONFP CO., PRINTERS , 

1917 

120-617-lOni 



DIRECTORY OF STATE SCHOOL OFFICERS 

THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION" 
W. F. Doughty, State Superintendent of PuMul Instruction 

R. B. BINNION, ^ ^- J- C^^f^^J.' . 

First Assistant Superintendent Stattstician 

S H. WHITLEY, GROVErC LEWIS, 

Assistant Superintendent Auditor 

JUDros F. MCDONALD, J. M. Bledsoe 

Supervisor of PuUic Certificate Clerk 

High Schools 

L. V. STOCKARD, George J Stephens, 

Supervisor of PuUie ^«^^ and Supplies 

High Schools 

E G. Graft:on, Arthur Perry, 

Division of Rural Schools Stenographer 

L T Cunningham, Clarence Sibley, 

Rural School Supervisor Stenographer 

L L Pugh Miss Norine Brown, 

Rural School Supervisor Stenographer 

STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS 

C. A. Jay, Chairman 

W. S. Brandenberger, Secretary 

Walker King, College Examiner 

L. Z. TiMMONS 

L. E. Dudley 

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

James E. Ferguson, Governor, Chairman 

C. J. Bartlett, Secretary of State 

H. B. Terrell, Comptroller 

W. F. Doughty, State Superin tendent and Secretary 

STATE TEXT-BOOK REVISION CO^MMITTEE 

F. M. Bralley, President College of Industrial Arts 

R. E. Vinson, President University of Texas 

W. F. Doughty, State Snpnrintendent of Public Instruction 

AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE 
College Station, Texas 
W. B. BizzELL, President Chas. E. Friley, Registrar 

COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS 
Denton, Texas 
F. M. Bralley, President C. A. Tripp, Registrar 



D. of D. 

SEP 2^ 1917 TMP92-008234 



.j> NOETH TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE 

TV Denton, Texas 

W. H. Bbtjce, President A. C. McGinnis, Registrar 

SAM HOUSTON NORMAL INSTITUTE 
Huntsville, Texas 
H. F, Estill, President H. L. Peitchett, Secretary 

SOUTHWEST TEXAS STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 
San Marcos, Texas 
C. E. Evans, President S. M. Seweul, Registrar 

STATE JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOL 
Gatesville, Texas 
Charles E. King, Superintendent John E. McDonald, Accountant 

STATE ORPHANS' HOME 
Corsicana, TJ'exas 
W. F. Babnett, Superintendent Aaeon Feeguson, Secretary 

STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND 

Austin, Texas 

E. E. Bbamlette, Superintendent and Secretary 

TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF 
Austin, Texas 
Gus F. Uebantke, Superintendent T. V. Aechee, Registrar 

TEXAS STATE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS 

Gainesville, Texas 

De. Caeeie Weavee Smith, Superintendent 

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 
Austin, Texas 
R. E. Vinson, President eI J. Mathews, Registrar 

WEST TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE 
Canyon, Texas 
R. B. Cousins, President • Travis Shaw, Secretary 

PRAIRIE VIEW STATE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE 

(For Colored Youth) 

Prairie View, Texas 

I. M. Tekrell, President 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Introduction 7 

The State Sclioolhoiise Building Law 8 

School Grounds: 

Location and size of grounds , . . 11 

Selection of site for building 14 

Division of grounds 17 

School Buildings : 

Location on site 18 

Foundation 19 

Basement 19 

Floors 19 

Walls and ceiling , 20 

Halls and stairways ' 20 

Doors and windows 21 

Class rooms 21 

Cloak rooms 23 

Library and reading room 24 

Assembly room 24 

Lighting 26 

Painting and tinting 27 

Heating and ventilation : • • • 38 

Care of building » 32 

School Equipment , . 33 

Water Supply 37 

Sanitation 40 

Old Buildings Eemodeled : 47 

Teachers' Cottages 48 

Appendix : 

Building plans 51 



INTEODUCTIOK 

Many requests come to the State Department of Education, especially 
from rural and village communities, for information and suggestions 
relative to the construction and equipment of school buildings. The 
number and frequency of siich requests is sufficient justification for 
the efEort to offer some advice with reference to these vital matters, and 
to submit a few illustrations b^sed on the conclusions of modern school 
authorities and architects who have given much study to this impor- 
tant subject. 

The purpose of this bulletin is to furnish soihe practical advice rela- 
tive to the school plant in general, and to present, especially to school 
trustees, school superintendents, and others interested, suggestive plans 
for the construction of one-, two-, three-, and four-room school build- 
ings. With the limited facilities at the disposal of the Department, it 
is not possible to offer detailed plans for the construction of new build- 
ings or the remodeling of old ones of the larger type. 

As a general rule, it would be wise for school trustees to employ a 
competent architect before undertaking the construction of a school 
building ; such an architect should be employed to prepare plans and 
specifications, and to supervise the work until the building is com- 
pleted. Before the work on a school building is begun, the plans and 
specifications should be submitted for approval to the proper legal 
authority and a permit secured as required by Section 13 of the State 
schoolhouse building law. 

People generally are demanding better houses, both in appearance 
and adaptability, to secure the best school work. Time is wasted and 
energy dissipated when children are crowded into buildings constructed 
without proper regard for well-established sanitary and hygienic prin- 
ciples. The schoolhouse building law enacted by the Thirty-third 
Legislature requires that every schoolhouse in this State constructed 
after its enactment at a cost of more than four hundred dollars must 
conform to modern ideas of lighting, heating, and ventilation. 

An attractive school building, with large grounds properly laid out 
and well kept, is the most valuable public asset in any community. 
Children naturally love the beautiful. Young minds are very impres- 
sionable, and unconsciously ihe discomforts, lack of harmony, and 
absence of beauty in many school buildings exert an influence tending 
to give children low ideals for themselves and disregard for the prop- 
erty of others. On the other hand, a well-built schoolhouse with at- 
tractive grounds, designed to meet the needs and purposes of the chil- 
dren, with due regard for modest efl'ects of grace and beauty, will 
profoundly influence the life of the entire community. 

If the information and suggestions contained herein shall assist in 
continuing and augmenting the phenomenal educational progress which 
is being made in this State, and shall serve to create and establish in 
the minds of the people correct ideals of what is necessary to provide 



and maintain efficient schools to meet the demands of the times, the 
mission of this bulletin will have been accomplished. 

Let lis have the full and complete co-operation of all persons and 
agencies interested in making the school plant a suitable place for the 
proper training of boys and girls to the end that they may become 
strong, useful^ and efficient American citizens. 

THE STATE SCHOOLHOUSE BUILDING LAW 

Be it enacted ly the Legislature of the State of Texas: 

LIGHTING 

Section 1. That in the public school buildings of Texas no window 
admitting light shall be so placed in a class room or study hall that 
it must be faced by pupils when seated at their desks. 

Section 2. That all window openings admitting light into class 
rooms or study halls shall not come lower than a point three and a half 
feet from the floor, and shall extend to a point within six inches of 
the ceiling. 

Section 3. That the area of clear window surface for the admission 
of light into any class rooln or study hall shall not be less than one- 
sixth of the area of the floor space in said class room or study hall, 
and no part of the said class room or study hall in which pupils are 
seated or required to study shall be at a greater distance from the 
window than twice the height of the window above the floor, except 
in cases in which adequate skylights are provided. 

Section 4. That the main light in all one-room schools shall come 
from the left- of the pupils as they sit at their desks, and in all larger 
buildings this condition shall be approximated as nearly as architectural 
demands and the demands of ventilation will permit. 

HEATING AND VENTILATING 

Section 5. That all schoolhouses shall be provided with sufficient 
heating apparatus. 

Section 6. That all stoves, radiators or other sources of direct heat 
located within the class rooms or study halls shall be so jacketed, ven- 
tilated or otherwise protected that the desks upon the side next to the 
stove, radiator or other source of heat shall not be more than five de- 
grees Fahrenheit hotter than the desks upon the opposite side of the 
room. 

Section 7. That all stoves, radiators, or other sources of direct or 
indirect heat supplying heat for a class room or study hall shall be 
equipped with an automatic temperature regulator that will regulate 
the temperature of said class room or study hall automatically to within 
two degrees of any set standard. 

Section 8. That every class room or study hall shall be provided 
with an efficient apparatus whereby in cold weather a supply of thirty 
cubic feet per minute of fre«h. warm air shall be supplied to each 



pupil in such manner as not to place any pupil in a disagreeable draft, 
and shall be provided with exhaust flue or flues, with inlets at or near 
the floor line, so arranged as to effectivel)^ carry out of the room the 
cold and impure air without placing any pupil in a disagreeable drafr. 

TNTERIOE WOODWORK 

Section 9. That all interior woodwork in school buildings shall be 
without such unnecessary fluting, turning or' carvings as catch dust 
and microbes, and all floors shall have their surfaces made impervious 
to water and germs by a coat of boiling paraffine oil or other floor 
dressing having .similar efl'ect, applied Immediately after the floor is laid. 

Section 10. That all school buildirigs of two or more stories shall 
be provided with not less than two widely separated flights of stairs, 
and no stair shall have winding treads, but every tread shall be full 
width and turns be made flat landings not less than four feet wide. 

Section 11. That all stairs shall have a handrail on each side and 
of such si?;e anct so placed that it can be held easily by the' pupils using 
these stairs, and all stairs shall have at least one landing not less than 
four feet wide between floors. 

Section 12 j That all outside doors and all doors leading from class 
rooms or study halls shall be so hung as to open outward. 

BUILDING PERMIT REQUIRED 

Section 13. That no public school building shall be constructed in 
the State of Texas 'at an expense of more than four hundred dollars, 
until the board of school trustees of the district or city or town in 
which the work is to be done shall have first secured a school building 
permit from the officer legallj'- authorized to grant such permit, certi- 
fying that the plans and specifications of said proposed building con- 
form to the hygienic, sanitary and protective regulations established 
■by this act for priblic school buildings in Texas. The petition for said 
permit shall be made in writing, and shall set forth such details of 
the plans and specifications as are necessary to pass upon the legality 
of the lighting, hearing (heating), ventilation, sanitation and fire pro- 
tection in such proposed building. For Imildings in a common school 
district the county superintendent of public ' instruction of the county 
in which the school is to be located, and for buildings of an independent 
school district, or in a city or town that has assumed control of its 
schools, the superintendent of public schools in that district or city 
or town is hereby authorized, empowered and required to examine all 
plans for all proposed public school buildings, costing over four hun- 
dred dollars, and to grant permits only for such buildings as conform 
to the requirements of this 'act, and to make a report to the State 
Department of Education of all such permits granted, transmitting all 
evidence. 



— lU- 



PENALTY 



Section 14. Tliat no person charged with the duty of disbursing 
school funds or of authoiizing disbursement of school funds in the 
State of Tesas shall pay or authorize the payment of any vouchers, or 
in any other manner pay out any sum of public money for the con- 
struction of any school building at an expense of more than four hun- 
dred dollars until the board of school trustees of said district or city 
or town has secured from the properly constituted authority a legal 
permit for such work, and that any disbursing officer failing to observe 
the provisions of this act shall be held liable for such amount as is 
paid out on account of such building as is not legally permitted. 

Section 15. That the State Department of Education shall imme- 
diately upon the passage of this act have prepared and sent to every 
county superintendent of public instruction, to every superintendent 
of schools in an independent school district, or city or town, and to 
every board of scliool trustees in Texas a bulletin setting forth this 
law, indicating the reasons for each of the regulations, and indicating 
ways in which the provisions of this act can be easily, effectively and 
economically met in the construction of school buildings. 

Section 16. The provisions of this act shall apply only to buildings 
constructed after this act takes effect. 

Section 17. The fact that there is now no law regulating the con- 
struction of public school buildings, and that hundreds of thousand (s) 
of dollars will be wastefuUy^ spent in unsanitary and unhygienic school 
buildings Avithin a few months, creates an imperative public necessity 
requiring that the constitutional rule providing that bills be read on 
three several days be suspended, and that this act take effect and be 
in force from an{J. after its passage, and it is so enacted. 



—11— 

SCHOOL GEOUNDS 

LOCATIOISr AND SIZE 

The demand for a central location is, as a rule, reasonable, but this 
is true only when it does not conflict with more important consider- 
ations. For example, it is of much greater importance to have well- 
drained grounds, where the opportunity is good for a sanitary water 
supply and toilet system., than to give preference to a central location 
at the expense of these other more vital advantages. Slight incon- 
venience to a few children on account of the location of the schoolhouse 
should not be considered seriously when the more important matters 
of health, sanitation, play-grounds, and the larger community interests 
are involved. It is often difficult for some people to realize the impor- 
tance of large and well-situated school grounds for the comfort, pleas- 
ure, and welfare of their children. The duty of locating the school 
building devolves upon the district school trustees, and before deciding 
upon a location, they should consider the ma'tter from every standpoint 
to the end that the most suitable site may be selected. Teachers being 
usually acquainted with the important questions involved can render 
valuable assistance to school trustees in selecting a proper location for 
a school building. Mr. Melvin E. Fayram, inspector of Iowa state 
graded and high schools, advises that the following suggestions have 
full consideration before the final selection of the schoolhouse site is 
made : 

(1) It should be so situated as to be convenient to the greatest 
number, but the size of the play-ground and the hygienic conditions 
should not be sacrificed. 

(2) It should be at a reasonable distance from all factories and 
the general hum of industry, and not within 600 feet of a railroad track. 
Quietness is one of the important psychological factors to be considered 
in the development of child life. 

(3) The altitude of the school grounds, as compared with adjacent 
territory- is of vital importance. The best authorities agree that public 
buildings should be located on soil as free from moisture as possible 
and subject to natural drainage. Made-land or land impregnated with 
organic matter is not desirable. Spring and marshy land or sites near 
sluggish streams should never be selected. Dampness is one of the 
leading causes of tuberculosis, rheumatism, tvphoid, and m^alarial fever. 
The breathing of damp atmosphere is one of the causes of languor and 
headache. It is a crime against humanity to compel children to spend 
the best and most vital hours of their lives in a building located in such 
an unsanitary place as to be injurious to their physical welfare. Flat 
grounds may be rendered suitable for school grounds by artificial drain- 
age, but low grounds are always to be condemned. 

Dr. Thomas Wood, Chairman of the Committee on Health Problems 
of the ISTational Council of Education, says: "The play-ground is not 
a luxury but a necessity. A school without a play-ground is an edu- 
cational deformity and presents a gross injustice to childhood.^' 



— Vi— 




—13— 

The effort to adapt coiintr}^ ^schools to, country life will amount to 
ver}^ little unless the country schools are furnished sufficient grounds 
for their needs. Under existing conditions it is useless to expect any 
sort of successful teaching of agriculture in most country schools. When 
school grounds .are larger, a school farm and a Iiome for the teacher 
provided, and the school plant made a community center during the 
entire year, there will he fewer to leave the farm for the citv. A larg-e- 




Rear Pla3'grouiid of a South Texas School 

area of good, healthful soil away from distracting influences will add 
materially to the liealth, comfort and welfare of the j^'Lipils. 

The area of the grounds should be sufficient to accommodate the 
pupils in all their games, to provide for a lawn, shrubbery, trees, school 
buildings and necessary outhouses, water supply, school garden, and 
school farm. The smallest country school could well use to advantage 
a site containing at least five acres. As much as two acres should be 
set aside for the building, the lawn, shade trees, and open play-grounds, 
and the other three acres for school gardens and demonstration plats. 
In some states where the plat includes the teacher's home at least ten 
acres are provided. 



— li— 

Trees, sliriTl3ber_y, and flowers are necessary for the beauty of the site 
and also for their good influence in the development of the pupils^ 
aesthetic tastes. The mere provision of these things may be an occasion 
for l^ringing the people together and furnishing a lesson in co-oper- 
ation in the enterprises of the community. 

SELECTIOlvT OF SITE 

There are three general types of school grounds as to shape: (1) 
square, (2) rectangular, (3) irregular. The type most often selected, 
perhaps, is the rectangular shape with the short side fronting the road, 
though many prefer the longer dimension next to the road. The build- 
ing, all will agree, should be on the highest part of the ground. It 
should not be closer than 100 feet to the road and either near the 
center or to one side of the frontage, depending upon whether the 




Govalle School, Travis County 

long or short dimension fronts the roadway, in. order not to spoil the 
play-ground. If the highway is dusty or noisy, a gTcater distance should 
intervene between it and the building. This arrangement will allow 
ample space for a lawn, flower beds, and ornamental shrubs and trees, 
with plenty of room along the sides, . or on one side and in the rear of 
the play-ground. Under no circumstances should the site on which 
the building is erected be lower than the portions of the grounds sur- 
rounding it, because during wet weather the water will stand under or 
near the house anrl the attendant evils which result from such condi- 
tions will manifest themselves. During the first part of the day and all 
the time when there is no fire, the rooms will be cold and damp, a fit 
breeding-place for colds, malaria, rheimiatism, and even tuberculosis. 
It may be necessary to provide a proper site l)y artificial means, and 
if so, it will be time and money well spent to make the site what it 
should be. If a road intersects the school ffrounds, its course should 



-15- 




Model Plan for School Grounds 



—16— 




Rural School Basket Ball 

be changed, and tlie premises enclosed with a neath'-built, substantial 
fence. Uneven places should be leveled, ravines should be filled, and 
all stumps and debris of every character should be removed entirely 
from the school grcjuzids. If there are trees of natural growth on the 
grounds, they should be kept properly trimmed, preserved and pro- 
tected at all odds. 




Playground Apparatus in a Texas Pairal School 



—IT- 



DIVISION OF GROUNDS 



The plan of properly laying out the grounds will depend upon the 
size of the plat and the number of divisions it is to contain. There 
should be at least sufficient room for the five following divisions: (1) 
the ornamental portion, or front yard, next to the road; (2) the boys' 
play-ground; (3) the girls' play-ground; (4) the general play-ground; 
(5) the school garden and agricultural phits. 

The front yard may be planted in flowers, shrubbery, and ornamental 
vines and trees, according to the tastes of those having the work in 
hand, but always in line with approved elementary principles of land- 
scape development. The lawn may be sodded in grass and laid off 
into miniature parks and squares surrounded by concrete or gravel 
walks. There is no valid excuse for a neglected and ill-kept school 
yard. The play-ground for boys should contain a baseball diamond 
and a basket-ball court. The girls' play-ground should contain one 




A Rural School Garden 

or more tennis courts, a basket-ball court and a croquet ground. There 
shoiild be ample space on the general play-ground for apparatus, such 
as see-saws, giant-strides, swings, and other devices for the small chil- 
dren, who are so often neglected in the matter of providing interesting- 
games and sports. For obvious reasons, athletic play-grounds should 
be at a safe distance from the school building, and should be laid out 
according to the established rules given in the manuals on the several 
games to be played. They should not encroach on the general play- 
ground, which should be well away from the road but nearer to the 
school building. Failure to provide ample play-grounds is a sin against 
childhood and deprives tlie children of their birthright. Play must 
have a large place in the successful modern school. Play, which incul- 
cates the team idea, the desire to excel, the correct notion of rivalry, 
educates and should be given much attention in every school- plan. 

The school garden and agricultural plats should be situated along 
the rear of the school ground for its entire length and should be divided 
in such manner as to meet best the needs for Avhicli thev mav be used. 



-18— 



SCHOOL BUILDINGS 

LOCATION ON THE SITE 

The selection of the site ia important but not more so than the loca- 
tion and adjustment of the building to the size and shape of the plat. 
Specific rules in regard to such matters are not practicable in all cases, 
since the surroundings, which must always be considered, vary so 
widely. However, as a general rule, if the lot contains two acres or 
less, the building should not be placed in the center of the grounds, 
but rather from 50 to 100 feet, depending upon the size of the plat, 
from the exact center and toward the mid-point of the front line of 
the grounds. This will afford the best view of the building from the 
road, and will furnish sufficient grounds on either side of the building 
for trees, shrubbery, etc., and in the rear for play-grounds and a school 
garden. Any grounds in excess of two acres may be set apart for agri- 
cultural, and demonstration purposes. 




Windows Properly Arranged 

To secure the best ligliting of a school room, authorities agree that 
windows for this purpose should be arranged either on the east or on 
the west side of the class rooms. 

They wmj he placed on the south side, but if so, each window must 
be provided with an adjustable translucent shade to shut out the direct 
rays of the sun, so that the eyes of the pupils will be protected. Sun- 
lio-Tit is the great germ destroyer; therefore, every class room ought to 
receive direct sunlight some time during each day to Iceep it liealthiul 
and wholesome. An eastern or western exposure will permit the sun- 
light to enter the rooms during a part of the day but not long enough 
at a time to require the use of shades except during the early morning 
or in the late afternoon. A southern exposure will require the use of 
shades all the day. and while furnishing too bright light for the pupils 
near the windows, those farthest away will ])e in shadows. . If, how- 
ever, light mvst lie admitted from the south, sreat care should be exer- 



—19— 

cisecl to protect the eyes of the children. The most undesirable light 
for school rooms is that received from the north, for no sunlight can 
enter from that dii'ection at any time in this part of the world. 

It is not possible for a school building to be correctly lighted unless 
it is properly situated with Reference to the cardinal points of the ':^om- 
pass. Care should be taken, therefore, that no site for school build- 
ings be selected which will require such an orientation or placing of 
the building that it will be necessary to admit the light into the class 
rooms from either the north or the south, if it can be avoided. The 
light should be received from either the east or the west. The choice 
of these . directions may be determined by the surroundings, such as 
tall trees, mountains, roads, etc. 

FOUNDATION 

A good foundation is very essential, if the building is expected to 
remain true in all its parts, and to withstand the force of the winds for 
a number of years. It costs too much in the long run to take even 
the slightest risk of making a mistake in this part of the building. In 
some sections of the State it is very difficult to obtain a secure founda- 
tion but the additional cost of making the best one possible will be a 
wise investment. This is true in the case of small buildings as well 
as of large and expensive ones. All competent architects and con- 
tractors will agree as to the importance of looking well to this feature 
of the building when drawing up the specifications. It is too late, and 
also useless, to express regret when the walls of an expensive building 
begin to crack or sag because of an insecure foundation. For a num- 
ber of obvious reasons the foundation ought to extend to a considerable 
distance above the ground line. If the building is too near the ground, 
the rooms will be kept damp and musty and the wood material in the 
foundation will decay. In no part of the State' should the floor be 
nearer than 24 inches to the ground, and in the eastern counties it 
should be even further above the ground. If the building is supported 
by blcK^ks or piers, it should be neatly and tightly underpinned to the 
ground line. 

BASEMENT 

Very few small buildings, especially frame structures, have basement 
, rooms. The value of such rooms is generally recognized even in country 
schools, but they are expensive to construct properly and very difficult to 
keep dry. Even when constructed with cement they must be surrounded 
with tile drains set below the level of the basement floor, or the build- 
ing must be surrounded with tile drainage. For these very obvious 
reasons it is usually advisable to omit basements in constructing small 
frame buildings and to exercise much care in installing them in brick 
or stone structures. 

FLoor.s 

Floors should be double-laid, with some deadening material between 
the upper and lower layers. This will keep out the ground-damp be- 



—20— 

low the floor and make the room easy to heat. The extra cost of a 
double-laid floor over a single-laid floor is more than offset by the 
saving in fuel, not to mention the protection of the children against 
colds and other discomforts. 

The under layer should be of good material laid diagonally across 
the floor joists, and closely joined together. Over this should be laid 
some kind of deadening material or good quality of strong building 
paper. The upper layer should be laid at right angles with the joists, 
and should be made of clear hard pine tongue-and-groove flooring not 
oyer three to four inches wide.- Every board should be carefully driven 
up, blind-nailed at every bearing, and joints should not line up within 
less than four boards. Seasoned white oak or hard m^aple is much 
better than pine for the top layer of the floor. 

Before the floor is used it should be sandpapered or planed to an 
even surface and treated with a boiling mixture of linseed oil and 
paraffine, in the proportion of two pounds of paraffine to each 
gallon of linseed oil. This mixture should be applied with a 
brush, about one gallon to every 500 square feet of surface to 
be covered. About once every three months after the building is in 
use the above mixture or one having a similar effect should be used 
to keep the floor in good condition and to keep down the dust. In 
oilino; the floors be careful lest too much oil be used and the floors be 
made greasy and unsightly. The linseed oil suggested prevents the 
lumber from shrin'king by closing the pores and the paraffine coats it 
with a wax and prevents the adherence of dust. 

WALLS AND CEILING 

The walls for class rooms should be at least 12^ feet high, inside 
dimensions, and should be ceiled with same kind of material as used 
in the floor. Every board should be driven up tightly and blind-nailed 
at every bearing. Joints should fit up tightly, and should not line up 
within less than four boards. Beaded ceiling catches dust readily and 
should not be used. However, if such material is used at all, it should 
be only for wainscoting. Flooring may be used just as well for this 
purpose, and will give a pleasing effect if cut into short lengths and 
set upright to wainscoat height, about 3-^ feet, and finished with a 
plain sanitary wainscoat cap. The overhead ceiling should also be of 
same material as the floor. 

In plastered buildings metal ceiling seems to be the most satisfac- 
tory, but in wooden buildings this kind of ceiling seems not to have 
been a success for the reason that the vibration of the building pulls 
the metal sheets apart. 

HALLS AND STAIRWAYS 

To avoid confusion or interference of pupils in passing, the halls in 
school buildings of more than two rooms should not be less than eight 
feet wide. The stairway should not be less than three and one-half 
feet wide, and the flights should be broken by landings not less than 



—21— 

three and one-half feet square, to prevent the strain which would result 
from climbing a long flight of steps. 

DOOES AND WINDOWS 

Wherever it is possible to do so, plain doors without panels should 
be used, especially for outside entrances. Plain doors are easily cleaned. 
Careful observation seems to have proved that it is a serious mistake 
to use doors with glass panels or panes. The slamming of the doors 
often causes the glass to be broken, it is expensive to replace it, and 
often an unsightly sheet of tin is nailed over the opening. If it is 
necessary to utilize the space about the door for lighting halls or cor- 
ridors, the panes of glass should be of the smaller sizes and placed in 
the walls by the side of or above the door. The outer doors of the 
building are required by law to swing outward, both as a protection 
against danger from fire and against driving rains. The doors leading 
from school rooms into halls should also open outwardly into the halls 
or corridors. There should be an approach to the entrance of the build- 
ing to prevent having to open outside doors back against the outside 
wall. In selecting locks for outside doors care should be taken that 
only such locks are put on as cannot be easily unlocked or removed. 
The most satisfactory method of fastening outside doors seems to be 
by the use of a strong Yale lock and a separate bronze-finished or black 
steel door-set with handle, latch and lift attached to door by means 
of strong metal bolts extending to inside and put on with lock nuts. 
The ordinary lock may be turned with a common skeleton key, and if 
any screws are exposed either in the knob bolt or elsewhere in the lock, 
the lock is soon out of repair and becomes useless. Dou.ble doors have 
not proved satisfactory. If a large opening is desired, it is better to 
use one wide heavy. door than double doors. 

All panes for outside Avindows should be of a good quality of clear 
glass. Panes of tlig smaller sizes should be used rather than the larger 
ones, because if broken they may be obtained at much less expense 
than the larges ones. All window sash should be heavy enough to pro- 
vide double-hung windows so they can be easily raised and lowered. 
Windows admitting from 18 to 24 square feet of light each should be 
selected to obviate the use of too many mullions or wooden divisions 
between the windows in the group. "Window glass should be kept free 
from paint or coloring of any kind but should be provided with light- 
colored shades to regulate the amount of light.' A painted or stained 
window gives a confused and dazzling light which is very harmful to 
the eyes of the pupils. 

CLASS ROOMS 

The class room is the fundamental unit about which the schoolhouse 
is designed, and should be planned to accommodate about forty pupils. 
One teacher cannot manage efficiently a greater number. Bach pupil 
should have a comfortable desk and the floor area should not be less 
than 18 square feet per pupil, with at least 216 cubic feet as the mini- 



—22— 




—23— 

mum cubic volume. Thus, for a forty-desk class room, the dimensions 
should be: width, 24 feet; length, 32 feet; and height, 12^ feet from 
floor to ceiling. A room of these dimensions will accommodate com- 
fortably 40 to 45 pupils by using five rows of desks with 8 or 9 desks 
in each row. 

Careful attention should be given to the orderly arrangement of the 
furniture and equipment in the class room. 

The teacher's desk should be at least three feet from the wall, directly 
in front of the pupils, and midway between the right and left walls. 
The stove should be located in the corner of the room and as near an 
outside door as practicable. The cases containing maps should be hung 
on the wall in front of the pupils. The pupils' desks should be neatly 
arranged in rows. The aisle on the window side of the room should 
not be less than 18, preferably 24, inches wide. All interior aisles should 
be uniform and not less than 18 inches wide. Aisles opposite the win- 
dow side of room should be as wide as practicable. No pupil's desk 
should be nearer than three feet to teacher's desk, and the space at the 
rear of the 'room back of the desks should be at least 24 inches. Where 
there are two or more rows of desks of the same size in a room, they 
should be in perfect alignment both from back to rear and from side 
to side. No row should contain desks of more than one size. If it is 
necessary to have rows of different sizes in a room, the .front desks 
should be in perfect alignment across the room, and the remaining 
desks of each row arranged so the space l^ietween desks, back to front, 
will be as follows: Size No. 1, 27 inches; No. 2, 26 inches; No. 3, 
24 inches; No. 4, 22 inches; No. 5, 21 inches; No. 6. 20 inches. When 
desks are properly arranged they should be securely screwed to the 
floor or to neatly-finished beveled wood slats, |x2-| inches. At least 
two screws of the proper size should be used to each desk foot. Screws 
should be run up full with a large screwdriver and not driven. 

CLOAK ROOMS 

Cloak rooms are a necessity and are provided in all plans of modern 
school buildings. Directly adjoining each class room should be smaller 
rooms for wraps, overshoes, hats, umbrellas, and lunch buckets and 
baskets. Two cloaTs rooms, one each for boys and girls, should be pro- 
vided for each class room. No class room can be made to appear 
attractive and well kept when wraps are hung ahout the walls or thrown 
upon desks and tables. The cloak rooms should be located so they 
can be supervised by the teacher, and should be furnished with a 
sufficient number of coat and hat hooks, and neatl3r-built shelves for 
lunch buckets and baskets. What is known as the "Chicago" cloak 
room seems to be gaining in favor very rapidly on account of its 
economy both as to cost and as to space. This type of cloak room is 
ilj.ustrated on page 29 of this bulletin. 



-24— 



LIBRARY OR READING ROOM 



Each school should have a library roam in the building for the care, 
use and distribution of books belonging to the school. This room need 
not be large, for a small school, but it should be separate from the 
class room and should be made quiet and attractive. Adults cannot 
give undivided attention to their reading when surrounded by much 
noise and confusion, and children have even less power to concentrate 
their attention under such conditions. 

A library room can be made attractive at small expense. The size 
of this room is a question to be determined by the conditions involved. 
In most country schools there will not be a large collection of books, 
hence, but little space will have to be provided in the form of shelves 




Library Room of Rural School, Platte School, Harris County 

or bookcases. However, a room large enough for a few chairs and a 
reading table will be necessary. The library room can also be used as 
a teacher^s room in which private conferences with patrons and school 
officials may be held. A room 10 feet long by 8 feet wide, provided 
with necessary windows for lighting and a door opening into the class 
room, will usually be large enough. Such a room should not be omit- 
ted, even at the expense of a reduction in cloak room space. The 
library itself will be discussed under the head of equipment. 



ASSEMBLY ROOM 

No school building is complete that does not contain an assembly 
room or auditorium Avhere the school may be assembled for general 



—25— 

and special exercises during the school term, and where the people of 
the comimmity may convene frequently in social-center and other com- 
munity meetings. 

It is not enough that the school building should serve only as a 
place where the children may attend school for a few hours each day 
during five or six months of the year. This use is essential and im- 
portant but the school building owes a larger service. The American 
public .school ought to be a school for all the people, — for the children 
and also for the grown-ups. The assembly room or auditorium is the 
class room or lecture room for the people, and if properly used will 
exert a powerful and conscious influence in the development of the 
community. It is a very necessary and integral part of a properly 




Assembly Room of a Rural School 



organized school plant and should not be omitted in the building plans. 
If at all possible, a separate room should be arranged for this special 
purpose, and should be provided with a stage, dressing rooms, and 
simple and attractive scenery and furnishings. 

As a matter of fact there are communities where the funds available 
do not seem sufficient to construct a special assembly room or audi- 
torium, and the class rooms must be used 'for meeting purposes. 

If the school building is to contain more than one class room and 
is to be used for community meetings, it is often advisable to construct 
it so that two or more rooms may be "thrown together^' to accommo- 
date such meetings as may be held for the social and civic betterment 
of the community. Such an arrangement may be provided by install- 
ing adjustable partitions made of sliding or accordeon doors. If such 
partitions are installed, they should he carefully built. If accordeon 



—26— 

doors are used they should be not less than two inches thick by eight 
feet high, coiinected by three four-inch hinges attached with long screws 
to each door, and operated on a patent track. The upper panel or part 
of each door should accommodate a piece of blackboard. It would be 
better for these doors to be plain unpaneled mill-made doors if such can 
be secured. If a rising sliding door partition is installed,- it should 
consist of two doors, one- on either side of a small central column and 
extend to within about four feet of each side of the rooms. These doors 
may be allowed to fit at the bottom into a stool, wdndow-fashion, about 
24 to 30 inches high, and when raised to full height, fit into a sheath 
or case, so that the top of the opening will be about eight feet above 
the floor line. Each of these doors should be carefully balanced, prefer- 
al)ly with moulded cast-iron weights, run on pulleys like window weights. 
These doors provide ample space for large pieces of blackboard and the 




ii^m-^.fii 



Rio Hondo Sclwol, Cameron County 

stool at the bottom answers very well for a chalk rail. They should 
be made of the best selected hard pine or hardwood and substantially 
framed or edged Avith a light strong board about ^ by 3 inches in 
dimensions. It will be unsatisfactory if a rising partition is made of 
one piece. It wnll be too heavy to operate easily, difficult to properly 
balance; and the span across the room, unsurported. will be in danger 
of sagging and thus injure the entire building. 



LIGHTING 



A very important problem in schoolhouse construction is the proper 
lighting of the class rooms. Under no circumstances should pupils be 
required to face the light, and, if possible, the teacher sliould be equally 
favored. The proper light is that admitted over the left shoulder of 



—37— 

the pupils for the reason that most children are right-handed and tlie 
admission of the light from the left prevents the pnpiPs own shadow 
being in his way. In this climate it is advisable, for the pur- 
pose of ventilation i]i warm weather, to place windows in the other 
walls of the room as well as on the left-hand side. However, all win- 
"dows for purposes of ventilation should be covered with louvers or 
fixed latticed blinds to shut out the light but admit air for ventilation. 
The greatest objection to the admission of light from the rear is the 
slight shadow produced in front of the pupil and also the strain on 
the teacher's eyes. The former is not serious and the latter is not great 
if the rear of the building is toward the north because no direct sun- 
light enters the room from that direction. 

The law requires that the amount of clear glass surface of the win- 
dows for a class room shall be not less than one-sixth of the floor space, 
and a larger amount is desirable; also, that the bottom of the windows 
for lighting purposes shall be at least three and one-half feet above the 
floor line, and that the top of the window opening shall be six inches 
from the ceiling. 

The windows for lighting should be arranged in a group with as 
little intervening wood space as may be necessary to give the building 
sufficient strength. The front window of the group on the left should 
be opposite the front row of desks, and should not be nearer than six 
or eight feet to the front wall, while the rear window of the group may 
come within one or two feet of the rear wall of the room. Under no 
circumstances should any light iv'hatev&r be admitted to a class room 
from the front or right of the pupils as they are seated at their desks. 
It has been previously stated that the building should be so placed on 
the site that the main light will enter the room from either the east or 
the Avest, if possible : from the south only when it cannot be avoided ; 
and never from the north. Adjustable shades of a light color should 
be provided for all windows which admit light. 

PAINTING AND TINTING 

JSTothing adds more to the ornamentation of the inside of the school 
building than paint properly applied according to some harmonious and 
artistic color scheme. Perhaps, the most satisfactory suggestions relat- 
ing to painting and tinting of the inside of the building come form 
a report made to the school board of JTew York City by a committee 
of the most prominent oculists of that* State. According to their re- 
port, the lower portion of the walls to wainscot height (about 3-J feet) 
should be light brown; the upper walls should be light buff or light 
gray; and the ceiling should be ivory white or light cream. The effect 
of this combination of colors is very restful and cheerful. Eed is stim- 
ulating, irritating and unrestful ; blue is quieting, but depressing. 
ISTeither red nor blue should be used inside the class room. 

If the walls are plastered they should have a smooth finish so they 
can be easily cleaned with a damp cloth when necessary. They should 
be tinted according to some attractive color scheme. The foregoing 



suggested combination will apply equally as well for plastered as for 
wooden walls. 

In order to furnish a wider range of choice, several other attractive 
combinations of colors are hereinafter presented. It is generally ac- 
cepted that a three-color combination is the most pleasing and most 
suitable for school rooms. 

In this bulletin lower loall means from floor line to wainscot height, 
which is to window sill or slightly above ; upfer wall means from wain- 
scot height to ceiling line, or to picture mould if drop ceiling is used. 

Doors and window sash, door and window frames and inside stair- 
ways should be same color as lower walls inside and same color on 
outside as outside trimming. 

Where two colors connect, the division should be formed by using a 
plain sanitary moulding to be painted same color as wall below it. All 
inside work should be done with flat oil ]3aints to avoid the shiny and 
unpleasant effect produced by using outside paints for inside work. 

The following suggestive color combinations are here offered for 
inside painting: 

Combination Lower Wall Upper Wall Ceiling 

ISTo. 1 Forest green Sage- Pearl gi'ay 

E"o. 2 ' Light brown Buff Cream 

jSTo. 3 Golden brown Tan Buff 

ISTo. 4 French gray Silver gray Pearl gray 

It is very necessary for wood buildings to be painted on the outside, 
both from the standpoint of economy and attractiveness. To properly 
paint a building not less than three coats of the best grade of paints 
should be used, and, no coat should be applied on a wet or damp sur- 
face or until the preceding coat has had ample time to thoroughly dry. 
The following suggestive combinations of colors are here presented as 
being suitable for outside painting : 



ibin^ 


ition 


Body 


Trimming 


Eoof 


No. 


1 


Steel gray 


White, brown or lead 


Black or dark green 


No. 


2 


Straw 


Dark brown 


Dark brown 


No. 


3 


Silver gray 


Stone 


Dark green 


No. 


4 


Slate 


Pearl gray 


Black 



It will be observed that white is not suggested as a suitable body 
color. Authorities agree that on account of the fact that white reflects 
the light too much it should not be used as a body color for public 
l)uildings. Another reason for not using white as a body color is on 
account of its showing weather effects so quickly. 

Outside houses and toilets should be painted and trimmed according 
to same color scheme used in painting school building on outside. 

HEATING AND VENTILATION 

In planning and constructing a heating and ventilating plant, the 
main problem is to secure a uniform temperature throughout the entire 



— S9— 

room. The proper temperature of a school room is 68 to 70 de- 
grees Fahrenheit at the breathing line. This uniform temperature, 
experience shows, cannot be maintained by means of the ordinary tin- 
jacketed stove or radiator. It is, therefore, necessary to provide some 
kind of heating system which will adequately heat and, at the same 
time, properly ventilate the room. This may be done in either one of 
two ways: (1) the fan system, by which the heated air is forced into 
and the fonl air out of the room; (2) the gravity system, which keeps 




School Room Heater Properly Installed 



the air in circulation due to the difference in weight of the same bulk 
of hot and cold air. 

Inasmuch as the fan S5^stem is too elaborate and expensive for coun- 
try and village schools, and its proper installation requires an expert, 
the discussion in this bulletin will be confined to the gravity system 
as applied to jacketed stoves. 

A jacketed stove, as its name indicates, is a stove surrounded by a 
metal casing or jacket between which jacket and the stove is an air 



—30— 

space connected directly by means of one or two ducts with the outside 
fresh air. 

These ducts permit the cold fresh air from the outside of the build- 
ing to be brought into contact with the stove. When this air is warmed 
it rises and circulates throughout the school I'oom. The jacket, when 
properly fitted, serves to keep the fresh air close enough to the stove 
to heat it, and at the same time to deliver it into the room well ahove 
the breathing line. To complete the circulation of air by means of such 
jacketed stove there must be an outlet or exit flue for the foul air. 
This may ' be built in connection with the smoke flue by building a 
chimney large enough to contain a fire-clay tile, terra cotta,, or iron 
pipe with which the smoke pipe connects to carry the smoke, leaving 
sufficient space between pipe and wall of chimney to carry the foul air. 
The entrance -for the foul air into the foul air flue, must be made in 
the chimney at the floor line. Dampers should be placed in the fresh 
air duct and also in the foul air vent to regulate, when necessary, the 
amount of air entering the room. A room fitted with an adequate 
system of ventilation will be heated more cheaply and more readily 
because it is easier to remove the cold air by means of the foul air 
vent than it is to heat it by radiation from the warm air in the upper 
part of the room as is the case Avhen the common stove is used. Splen- 
did patent jacketed stoves are now on the market and a list of those 
approved by the State Department of Education will be furnished to 
anyone on request. 

The stove should be of heavy construction, without rims or other 
projections, and with a medium base. For a room of the usual size, 
24x33 feet, with wall 12^ feet in the clear, the fire-pot at the bottom 
of the stove door should not be less than 18 inches in diameter for 
places south, and not less than 20 inches north, of Austin. . A stove 
with a fire-pot of less diameter may heat the room very satisfactorih'', 
but in extremely cold weather it will be necessary to heat the stove so 
intensely that the material being lighter than in the larger sizes, will 
soften and burn out. Careful observation has demonstrated that no 
heater with a fire-pot of less than 18 inches in diameter should ever 
be installed if satisfactory heating and ventilation is to be expected. 
The shield or jacket of the stove should be made of Eussian iron or 
plated steel of not less than 24-gauge, and should be lined with heavy 
corrugated sheet tin or bright sheet iron, and with a heavy layer of 
asbestos between the lining and the jacket. The shield or jacket should 
be as nearly radiation-proof as ]:)OssiblG. The shield or jacket should 
not bo less than eight inches from the stove, about six inches above 
the floor, and about six inches taller than the stove. The open space 
at the base of the jacket allows the cold air near the floor to be drawn 
into the jacket and heated. The door in the jacket should be large 
enougli to permit the easy passage of fuel to the fire-pot door. 

The fresh-air inlet duct should not draw the air from beneath the 
floor but should ha connected with the fresh air outside l)y means of 
an opening in the side wall of the building,-and should 1)e of sufficient 
dimensions to permit the passage of at least 30 cubic feet of fresh air 



—31— 

per mmute for each pupil on the basis of the number of ]3upils to be 
accommodated by the room. This duct should not be less than 12 by 16 
inches in cross-sectional area," should enter the room through the wall 
above the floor line and be connected with the jacket, bringing the 
cold fresh air into direct contact with the fire-pot or combustion chamber 
of the heater. 

Flues for class room heaters should be constructed of hard-burned 




floor l/ne. 



DDDDDaana 

EDaaapDDo 
□nDa □■-'>-■.- 

DODDO- 

aaoc-- 

QQC: 



Tool < 



/ 



To^/'*"- 







Room flc/£ 



□aanannan 

DOQDOOPaD 

ODnnnQ 1 

crnaar- 
apDr- 



F/e/f 



3/NGir rLUf WITH r/JtrciA"/ 

JM0KC3TACK JU5/DI: 



Ouver wa// br/CK or sei/2/orced mera/ lar/z 

How a Flue Should Be Constructed 



brick, with inside dimensions of flue not less than 16 by 16 inches for 
each stove for full height of flue, and should have a foul air vent at 
the floor line equally as large. If a flue is to accommodnte more than 
one stove tliere must be a partition for the full height of the flue, and 
each division made the size indicated above. No single flue should 
carry more than one stove. Some prefer separate divisions in the flue, 
one for exit of the smoke and another for the exist of the foul air. 
An excellent plan is to construct a main flue or chimney with a sep- 



—33— 

arate division of the dimensions given above for each stove, and" inside 
of each division install a fire-clay tile or heav3^-gange iron pipe of not 
less than seven or eight inches in diameter for the exit of the smoke. 
This inner tile or metal pipe should extend from the floor line, or 
from a shoulder or brace just below the smoke hole, to slightly above 
the top of the main flue, and be fastened securely to the walls of the 
main flue with heavy iron braces. 

CARE OF BUILDING 

Nothing contributes more to the efficiency of school work than neat, 
well-kept school buildings. Public property should have the same care 
and consideration that should be given private property. During school 
hours, the superintendent or principal is the legal custodian of the 
school building. It is, therefore, most important that he keep con- 
stantly on the alert to prevent marking or mutilation of the property. 
During the time that the school building is not in actual use for school, 
it is the duty of the trustees to see that it is kept securely locked and 
the keys placed in the hands of some reliable person with definite in- 
structions as to when the building shall be opened. ISTo schoolhouse 
should be subject to vandalism or used as a meeting place for rowdy 
assemblies. 

Floors should be swept daily and each time a disinfectant should be 
used to destroy harmful germs, and to prevent the spread of contagious 
diseases. It is unsafe to use any disinfectant except such as has been 
approved by the State or county health officer. A feather duster should, 
not be used because it serves to scatter disease germs. A damp cloth 
slightly oiled with kerosene may be effectually used instead. The dust 
and trash swept from the floor should be burned. 

To guard against the probability of fire, all flues should be built from 
the ground of stone or brick laid flat. Fire extinguishers may be nsed 
to advantage in suppressing fire in its early stages. 

With reference to fire escapes, especially in high school buildings, 
we quote from Dr. A. Caswell Ellis, of the University of Texas, as 
follows : "In buildings of two or more stories it is very important 
that there be two widely separated means of escape. Outside fire escapes 
are not only extremely ugly, but are often a positive source of danger 
within themselves. As a general rule, we would recommend two sep- 
arate flights of broad easy steps on two opposite sides of the building. 
All stairs, and the halls leading to them from the outside, should be 
constructed fire-proof, should be shut off from the rest of the building 
by solid brick walls. Centrally located stairs, however beautiful and 
convenient, should not be considered unless the above precautions are 
taken. It is verv important that no furnace, stove, or other source 
of fire be located near the stairs. To avoid danger of long falls on 
the stairs, they should be broken by landings between floors. These 
landings should be at least four feet wide, and five feet is generally con- 
sidered the best width for stairs, as this admits of two persons walking 
abreast comfortablv. If the stairs are wider and more than two chil- 



dren march abreast, the clanger of falls \is greatly increased, and those 
in the middle have no rail to grasjo. The boxed-in stairs is best ag it 
avoids the remote, though possible, danger of breaking down the open 
railing during a panic, thus causing loss of life." 

The cost of insurance against damage to school buildings by tire or 
tornado is too small for this important matter to be overlooked by 
trustees. Care should be taken to see that the company issuing the 
policy is a reputable one. The provision of fire and tornado iiisur- 
ance is especially urged for the protection of school districts against 
which there are unpaid schoolhouse bonds, because if the school build- 
ings are uninsured and should be destroyed by fire or storm it would 
be a great burden on the people to re1)ui]d them. 

SCHOOL EQUIPMENT 

The cost of adequate equipment should be figured as a necessary 
part of the expense when bonds are to be voted and a sufficient amount 
of bonds should be issued to fully construct and equip the school build- 
ing. ' Too often it has occurred in many places in Texas, in the erec- 
tion of a new building, that the matter of equipment has not been 
considered, with the . result that cheap and inferior furniture and in- 
sufficient equipment has been purchased with such funds as could be 




Sanitary Teacher's Desk 





Teachers' Chairs 



—34- 





Sanitary Pupils' Desks 



—35— 

spared from the maintenance funds. In many instances, this has re- 
sulted in reducing the term of school for several years in order to meet 
this additional expense. 

In addition to a competent teacher, each room should contain, as a 
minimum, the articles named below : 

(1) Enough modern single desks of pi'oper sizes to accommodate 
all pupils in the room; with every desk in good repair and securely 
screwed to the floor or to neat wood slats. 

(2) A standard teacher's desk, large, sanitary, with drawers that 
lock securely, and a good chair. 



1-*-^.-:% .-; .: 



"•^v.^ 







Book Case 



(3) jSTot less than 30 lineal feet of first-class blackboard, slate, 
hyloplate, or better grade, 3 to 4 feet wide, either black or green in 
color, framed with neat moulding and provided with neat chalk rail or 
trough. The chalk rail should not be more than 36 inches, 30 inches, 
and 34 inches, respectively, from the floor, for primary, intermediate 
and high school pupils. 

(4) A neat and- attractive bookcase or room which can he securely 
locked ; and at least $25.00 worth of well-adapted books per teacher. 

(5) A set of standard geographical maps, including political ma£S 
of Texas, United States, N"orth and South America, Europe, Asia, 




Single Map in Case 



—36— 




Case of Maps 



Africa, and Australia; and if same maps are to be used in more than 
one room, each map should be in a separate steel or wood case. 

(6) A standard meridian globe at least 12 inches in diameter. 

(7) A call bell, a clock, and a thermometer. 

(8) A few, at least two, select pictures of recognized artistic value 
on the wall. 

(9) A supply of noiseless erasers, a box of dustless crayon, and some 
rubber-tipped pointers. 

(10) A waste basket. 




Hanging Glube 




MERIDIAN GLOBE 



—37— 

(11) A dustless floor-brush, a poker, a fire shovel, and some oiled 
dust cloths. 

(13) A foot-scrape and. a door-mat. 

(13) An approved jacketed heater properW installed. , 

(14) An adjustable shade of suitable light color for each window. 

WATEE SUPPLY 

',^ Every; school should be amply supplied with pure water. Children 
require much more drinking water than adults. If practicable, the 
water should be examined carefully before its use is permitted. If 
there is likelihood of obtaining good water on the site at reasonable cost, 
a well should be sunk. The purity of well water depends largely upon 
the manner in which the well is cased or walled and the precautions 
exercised to prevent its pollution. Driven or bored wells, when of suf- 
ficient depth, fitted with thread-and-screw joint easing, are safe, but 
open wells near the surface should not be permitted as they afford 
means of entrance for surface water. 



INSULATED SUPPLX PIPE 



INSULATED L(0. 
OUTER VV/4 L L 

N 5 U LAT ION. 
IN3IDE CONTAINER- 
CHARCOAL FILTER 
'OVER FLOW PIPE 

WATER. C,UA<iE 




Sanitary Water System 



:3S- 





Drinking Fountain in Use 




Sanitary Drinking System 



—so- 



Dug wells sllould be walled above tbe ground with brick or tile, cov- 
ered with a reinforced concrete top, and equipped with a good pump. 
In certain localities artesian wells are preferable to shallow surface 
wells, as the latter are always in danger of pollution through seepage. 

If the source of sn.pply should be a cistern, the water should pass 
through a filter three feet square and four feet deep, filled with coarse 
sand which should be changed occasionally. The cistern should be 
screened with galvanized screen w^re. 

^ome form of sanitary and convenient drinking device such as is 
illustrated on pages 37 and 38. The common drinking cup or even 
individual cup should not be tolerated l)ecause both are transmitters 
of disease and should be outlawed. The individual drinking cup is, of 
course, much less objectionable than a common drinking cup for the use 
of all the pupils. 




TEXAS STATE BOARD OF HEALTH 
Al/STlN.TEX. 






'ELL PROTECTION. 




Every Precaution Should Be Observed to Protect the Water Supply 



-J:0- 



SANITATION 



''The school building and grounds should be a place of beauty, not 
a place of ugliness; a place of comfort, not a place of discomfort; a 
place of cleanliness, not a place of uncleanliness. About the school the 
grass should grow green and the sun shine bright, the flowers bloom 
and the birds sing, and the trees wave their long arms, that the chil- 
dren, while listening to the lessons taught by man and books, may 
receive also from the potent, silent influences of the environment, the 
sweet messages of peace, and love, and culture and beauty." 

The school building and premises should be as clean and attractive 
as the best kept home in the community, and it is not unfair to insist 
that it be so kept throughout the year. Each room should be thor- 
ou2;hlv disinfected a few days before school is to l-)egin. and frequently 




Martin ydiool, Fisher County 

during the prevalence of any contagious disease. This may be easily 
done by burning snlphur candles or formaldehyde lamps in the room. 

It is much better to use dustless crayon and also to keep mud out 
of the room than to have to deal with the dust created by neglect. Dry 
sweeping with a broom followed by the use of a feather duster scatters 
dust ancl germs throughout the room only to be inhaled by the occu- 
pants during the day. The proper time for sweeping is in the after- 
noon after the children have been dismissed, and not at intermissions 
during the day. The doors and windows should be kept open during 
the sweeping, In the morning before school opens, the woodwork, 
desks, and other furnishino-s should lie wiped with a cloth slightly 
oiled with kerosene. Sweeping may lie done with wet sawdust or sweep- 
ing compound and an ordinary broom. A dustless brush containing a 
regulated oil reservoir is a satisfactory means of avoiding dust during 
the sweeping. 

It would be difficult to exaggerate the filthv condition which existfi 



—41— 

in connection with toilets of rural schools in this State, and there 
should be no further delay in taking the proper steps to remedy this 
glaring evil. Every school should have at least two substantially 
and neatly-built toilets, one each for boys and girls. They should 
be located in opposite rear corners of the play-ground, at the same 
angle from the rear corners of the school building. See diagram, 
page 15. The boys' toilet should be convenient to their play-ground, 




Two Bad Toilets 
This type is yet found in many rural schools 

and marked "Boys' Toilet"; and the girls' toilet convenient to their 
play-ground, and marked "Grirls' Toilet." 

Toilets should be made sanitary and protected against flies, and the 
entrance should be protected from exposure by blinds made of L-shaped 
walls, or of vines and shrubbery. It would be well for school trustees 
to study plans given on pages 42-46 in this bulletin for the construction 
of sanitary toilets before attempting to build them, and if the toilets 
are old and in bad repair to follow such plans in remodeling them. 

The most satisfactory method of dealing with this problem where 



—43— 

no sewerage system is accessible is by the installation of some one of 
the following systems: (1) the concrete vault sanitary privy, recom- 
mended by the U. S. Public Health Service, page 43 (2) the chemical 
tank system, page 44; (3) the septic tank system, pages 45, 46. All these 
systems are approved and recommended by the Texas State Board of 
Health. See cuts for methods of installation of these svstems. 




A Sanitary Toilet 



-43— 



4" Cast iron pipe 



MatcTied sldinj 
i\f and 2"XJ Trim 



BlocK'to hold cover 
an a self cloaivig 
»josition 




Sectional Plan 



Appf^ve.i V^ywl^^ithA- 



TEXAS 
STATE BOARD OP HEALTH 

Plans For A 
CONCRETE VAULT PRIVY 
Dr. W. B. Collins, Austin, Texas 
State Health Officer File No. P-446 
Department Of 
iSanitary Engineering 



The Concrete Receptacle Sanitary Privy (Recommended by the U. S. Public 

Health Service) 



H— 



CftRRt r^ATT /)0Q/£ 




HfiPP mOD SB AT 



At AH HOL^^ 



Sanitary Chemical Toilet 



—45— 



Approximote cost of concrtti tank $18. Tank to be 
cleaned at li-ost onca every six month» and contents 
burned, or disinfected and buried. 



4" Vanr 



NOTE. Provide 3 inch bottom 
suction diaphragm pump for re- 
moving sludge from tank- 




vitrified tiU 
Fall'- r in to' 

g Re enforcing b< 
spaced !£ centers 






— I &h 



-H <»> 



q-Fpr 



Mote No cVieinica\s to ba used in connection with 
tViis closet. Pour in one bucket of water daily 



Approved By 
3anitary Enginsgr 



Improved Closet 



Texas State Board of Health. 

DrWBCollina Scale- i" = (' 

State Health Officer April -19\7 

Dap of San.EnjV, 

File-P-426 Austin, T.».., 



Septic Toilet 



-46- 







Sanitary Siphon Septic Toilet 



—47— 

OLD BUILDINGS REMODELED 

There are many well-built^ old-fashioned schoolhouses which may be 
remodeled and made more serviceable and attractive at a comparatively 
small cost. School districts that do not have sufficient available funds 
for the erection of the necessary new, buildings should secure plans for 
making their old buildings conform to modern requirements. This is 
being done satisfactorily in many places. The changes most needed 
for the improvement of old buildings are those respecting lighting, 
heating, and ventilation. Window spaces on the right and in front of 
the pupils should be closed; additional windows placed on the left side 
and rear; paint properly applied both on the inside and outside; and 
modern furnishings, such as Jacketed heaters and modern desks, and 
other necessary equipment provided. If the rooms in the old buildings 
are large enough cloak rooms and a library or reading room may be par- 
titioned off, but if the rooms are not large enough to permit this, an 
addition may be erected on one side of the main building for these 
necessary rooms. Plans as given herein for the construction of build- 
'ngs furnish valuable suggestions as to how old buildings may be re- 
modeled to comply with modern requirements. 

The average one-room school building has three or four small win- 
dows on each side, a door, usuallv a double door, in one end, a steep 
roof surmounted by a toAver or belfry, and- a small chimney or flue 
emerging at the comb of the roof near the center of the building. It 
is a wooden structure and rests on brick nillars, wooden blocks, or 
rough stones, with an open space between the floor and the earth so 
that the\ winds sweep through unobstructed. Usually, the only paint 
visible remains in patches from that applied when the building was 
new. The outside boards on the walls are hanging loose, and the foun- 
dation has long since ceased to be level. In the center of the room, 
may be found a box stove, rusty and old, sitting on half bricks or in 
a box of sand or dirt. An unpolished pipe runs straight up to the 
ceiling and into the flue. Double benches, unsanitary and defaced, 
arranged on either side of the stove, and a dilapidated teacher's desk 
or rough table surmounting a useles'' and uglv rostrum or platform are 
a part of the. interior furnishings. The floors, made of rough lumber, 
have their large cracks partiallv filled with dirt. There are no cloak 
rooms ; hats and wraps are piled carelessly on benches, and lunch baskets 
are sittino- promiscuouslv around over the neglected and dirty floor. 
Hanging in the rear of the room or sitting on a broken desk is a dirty 
Avater-bucket, containing the visible supply of drinkins; water in which 
is a rusty clipper or tin cup. The dingy and unsightlv lamp-smoked 
walls, the unclean windows with their broken panes, the sleek and shinv 
wooden, or torn and ragged oilcloth blackboards, the scarred and un- 
couth desks, loose and ill-arranged, all suggest a familiar picture to the 
minds of those who are acquainted with country schools in Texas. It 
is too great a waste, economi^'ally, to the State to permit such conditions 
to continue. 

Many of the country schools are padly in need of simple and com- 



—48— 

paratively inexjDeiisive repair. There is absolutely no valid excuse for 
allowing schools to be maintained in such miserable quarters as are 
called schoolhouses in some localities in this State. It is a criminal 
disregard of a community's obligation to its children; it is a woeful 
evidence of indifference and lack of ordinary energy and pride. 

TEACHEBS' COTTAGES 

Eeference has already been made to the subject of a home for the 
rural teacher on the school ground. The establishment of homes for 
men teachers on school farms or tracts of land adapted for the purpose 
would greatly aid in introducing and maintaining effective work in the 




Teacher's Cottage 



teaching of agriculture. Unless pupils actually engage in experimental 
work in agriculture under the guidance of a competent instructor, what 
is learned from books will be of little practical value. Vacation time is 
coincident with the period of growing crops, and if the teacher does 
not remain in the community to direct the work planned during the 
winter and spring months, it will probably go by default. Unless a 
home and some means of employment are at the disposal of the teacher, 
his vacation period must, necessarily, be spent outside the community. 
Very frequently men and women find it difficult to secure a satis- 
factory boarding place in the comraunitv, and for this reason alone 
refuse a second term in the school. Again, the mere selection of a 
boarding place may incur opposition from others who were applicants 



—49- 




Teacher's Cottage in Guadalupe County 

for the teacher^s preference. Cottages for married teachers, especially, 
are very necessary if we may expect to increase the nmnber of capable 
men teachers in country districts. 

Texas enjoys the distinction of having more teachers' cottages than 
any other State in the Union, according to a report from the Federal 
Bureau of Education.. Statistics compiled by the State Department oJf 
Education show that 168 pchool districts in Texas have provided homes 
for their teachers. Of tiiis number, KU are for white teachers and four 




Teacher's Cottage in Johnson County 



—50— 

for negro teachers. Tliese liomes are distributed over 46 out of 250 coun- 
ties in the State, Avith the largest number, 14 eaeh, in Gillespie and 
Lavaca counties. In this connection it ma}^ be said that teachers seldom 
remain in the same district as long as two terms, and one of the principal 
reasons for this drifting on the part of rural teachers is unsatisfactory 
living conditions provided for teachers of country schools, and particu- 
larly for those with families. In order that the teaching efficiency may 
be increased to the highest' possible degree in country districts there 
should be longer tenure of position, and closer identification on the part 
of the teacher with the interests of the community. A home for the 
teacher will do much to develop better school conditions in any com- 
munity. 



APPENDIX 

PLANS FOR SCHOOL BUILDINGS 



—52— 




No. 1 — Floor Plan and Perspective of One-room Rural School 



—53— 




No. 



2_Floor Plan and Perspective of One-voom Rural School 



—54— 




23'x 3 2i.' 






No. 3 — Floor Plan and Perspective of One-room Rural School 



-55— 




.L.f\-J.J 



' T'T: 





Pc.-t:.^ 






No. 4 — Floor Plan and Perspective of One-room Rural School 



— oG— 








No. 5 — Floor rUui iind Per.siH'i-tive of Two-room Rural School 



-57— 





No. 6 — Floor Plan and Perspective of Two-room Rural School 



—58— 




J 



Xo. 7 — Floor Plan ami Peispectivo of Three-iooni Rural School 



-59- 




No. 8 — Floor Plan and Perspective of Three-room Rural School 



—60- 




No. 9 — Floor Plan and Perspective of Three-room Eural School 



-61— 




m^msmss^fss^ie—^ 



CLA35 UCOM 




T'"t 



^4*^==*=^ 



c LA 2)5 ;o.: 







No. 10 — Floor Plan and Perspective of Three-room Eural School 



—63- 




—63- 




No. 12 — -Floor Plan and Perspective of Four-room Eural belKini 



—64— 




No. 13 — Floor Plan and Perspective of Four-room Rural School 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

020 948 897 8. 



